Becoming a conservation area

Nasqueron

the_r_sole wrote: »

The street obviously hasn't been included for a reason, has the character of the street changed significantly since the conservation area was established?
I can't imagine you'll get much support from other home owners, if you want a property in the conservation area, buy one, moving in and trying to have a more restrictive planning designation placed on the area is the ultimate nimbyism

Yes this is the main point - you're effectively going to stop anyone who owns a house there from doing certain amounts of work to their houses for no reason other than NIMBYism - I doubt many people would sign up for it, not least because it can make their houses less appealing to sell with such restrictions

Sapphire

cattie wrote: »

I've lived in 2 different conservation areas & what I did find was that it can make it much more appealing to potential buyers when selling & can even add a bit to the asking price.

What I've liked about conservation areas is the knowledge that keeping the character of the properties is key & that no unsightly buildings or extensions are likely to spring up or that nobody can choose to paint their house in gaudy colour. One downside is that any trees in the garden are protected also so you are expected to seek permission from the councils tree officer to have them cut back or removed. Not everybody bothers with this though.

If I ever thought about moving again I'd buy a place in a conservation area again without hesitation.

I totally agree with this, and certainly think that it increases the value of property precisely because of the restrictions on development. Some people just want to be left alone and don't want the aggravation and noise of continuous building works, and the uglification of areas, which has been so prevalent in areas of London during the last few years (and all for what; often for foreign investors, hedge funds and property developers to invest in as business opportunities, not for the provision of housing for working Londoners).

A relative lives in a conservation area in London, and her new neighbour (an immigrant so couldn't care less about the aesthetics and history of the place) wanted to build what amounted to a car park that would have infringed greatly on their property, and destroyed green space around it. He wanted to destroy the back garden to include a modern double garage and turntable for a car, among other things. That's in an already crowded, environmentally sensitive area, which is surrounded by buildings. The council refused him permission, and he was allowed to develop the interior of the place with sensible restrictions. The work is taking years, literally, and the constant mess and noise around the area is affecting neighbours greatly, but that's another story.

Sorry, but I don't believe in the destruction of old, historic buildings, greenery, and the character of old areas, just to pander to some passing fad. Once historic things are gone, they are gone forever.

I'd choose a conservation area over any other any day if there was a choice.

AlexMac

I've lived in two conservation areas - still do, so in respect of ...

charlotte_rose wrote: »

...
I would like to hear views as to your experiences of being in and particularly changing into one, from the perspective of the whole area.

Did you notice any change apart from needing planning permission for more work?

I'd guess it depends on the local authority.

I enjoy the IDEA of living in a CA, but...

I don't feel that in my area, it makes a lot of difference to Planning decisions as the planning officers are inclined to agree almost anything on the nod. And even when the mandatory 8 neighbour objections force an application onto the agenda for decision by a Committee of elected Councillors, to recommend approval. Our street residents' association is active, but also very tolerant of innovation, so (as with other streets in the CA) we have a very eclectic mix of 18th & 19th century buildings but also many decent (as well as some very bland) examples of much more modern domestic architecture.

We have to fight quite hard to oppose the truly objectionable and sometimes- but only sometimes - win. We prevented a grotesque over-development of a narrow, end of garden corner plot occupied by a single garage. The Council refused, agreeing that at three storeys in a lane where most are only two levels high, it would abut, dominate, and in fact cantilever out over, the adjacent narrow linear park and footpath. But we lost one when a developer got approval to cram two four-storey semis in a 13-meter hole with a 2-level basement on the site of a former single bungalow in a what used to be the mews for the big houses behind! But at least the subsequent noise and vibration and hundreds of complaints to Planners and Councillors got a presumption against double or triple basements written into later guidance.

We also seem to lose a couple of street trees every time a greedy developer decides to build right up to the frontage - changing what used to be a tunnel of green into a series of brick, glass, cedar or copper clad facades.

And as a measure of how tolerant (or half-hearted) our Council is, they have not bothered introducing Article 4 Directions in all of our many local CAs. These Regs remove some usual Permitted Development Rights, such as the replacement of windows, doors and roofing materials. So in my case, as I'm in one such relaxed bit of the CAs, it meant that I could change windows, and convert a garage with brickwork and windows in place of the door without Planning Application (but with Building Control approval, obviously). Whereas a mate in the more rigidly enforced one up the road had to apply even for a like-for-like replacement of a Georgian sliding sash window (although he'd probably have got away without) !

So although the comment above, that you'll probably struggle to get support from neighbours, is probably true, and while I enjoy the idea in principle, I bet most people won't even care or be aware of what a CA is, will cling to the nostalgic (and not very PC) adage that an EnglishMAN's home is HIS castle, and oppose feared future bureaucratic meddling.

So if I was you, I dunno if I could be bovvered...

eddddy

charlotte_rose wrote: »

In due course I want to canvas residents as to their opinions on whether it would be a good or bad thing to be in one.

I guess one possibility is that your canvasing results in a flurry of people installing uPVC windows etc, so they get it done before conservation area status is granted.

trailingspouse

Is it something you have a choice about??


I always though the granting of conservation area status was up to the Local Authority, rather than the people living in the area. What I mean is, if the LA decide to make your area a conservation area, I don't think there's a lot you can do about it. And ditto if it's not their intention to do so then a bunch of neighbours who want it isn't going to make them change their mind.



And if you don't have a strong opinion either way yourself, why do you feel the need to canvas everyone else's opinion?

System

trailingspouse wrote: »

Is it something you have a choice about??


I always though the granting of conservation area status was up to the Local Authority, rather than the people living in the area. What I mean is, if the LA decide to make your area a conservation area, I don't think there's a lot you can do about it. And ditto if it's not their intention to do so then a bunch of neighbours who want it isn't going to make them change their mind.



And if you don't have a strong opinion either way yourself, why do you feel the need to canvas everyone else's opinion?

It's the Hyacinth Bucket effect!